Roma defender Alessandro Florenzi will make his return to the action after an 11-month absence Saturday against Hellas Verona, manager Eusebio Di Francesco announced Friday.
The 26-year-old suffered a ligament tear on October 26, 2016 in a Serie A match against Sassuolo.
“His time has come: he’ll start the match tomorrow,” said Di Francesco at a press conference. “He’s come a long way. Now we’ll get to see how he does out there but I’m sure he’ll produce a top performance because I’ve seen how motivated he is.”
Di Francesco also confirmed Florenzi will start at full-back against Verona.
“Alessandro will play in defence tomorrow but it depends on the type of game,” said Di Francesco. “It wouldn’t have been wise to bring in a player who’s not 100% match fit against Atletico but tomorrow I need players with certain attacking attributes.”
Patrick Shick has also been declared as available to be included in Saturday’s squad.
